A Lifetime of Love

For many years now, the Lord has given me a burden for moms. A burden to encourage them in their mothering journey and share what I have learned in my own (good and bad) experiences. I cannot begin to count how often I hear the comment, "I don't know how you do it. You are amazing." While I don't necessarily feel amazing, the comment just solidifies my heart's desire to share with others. I have been thinking about how to do this and I came up with an idea. I would like to get together with a group of moms (stay-at-home, working, older kids, younger kids. If you're a mom, you're invited!) on a monthly basis for about 2 hours. During this time, we would discuss a topic related to mothering, being a wife, running a household, etc. We would study in-depth what the Scripture has to say about the topic, and practical tips and ways to apply it to our lives. Of course there would be food because (I love food!) no gathering can be complete without it. So wha...

Last Friday was my 35th birthday. Although not a "milestone" birthday by any stretch of the imagination, I have been dreading it secretly because it means I'm closer to 40. For years I have been (jokingly) telling my kids I am 29....and the young ones still believe me because they simply don't know any better! Late Friday morning, a friend of mine picked up the boys so they could do some work around her horse pasture. Tristin-Grace went with them since she had the day off from school.  My friend keeps another little girl who is Tristin-Grace's age.  The girls met at Vacation Bible School last year and got together frequently over the summer.  Since school started, this has been their first opportunity to get together (the girl lives in a neighboring town and attends school in another district.  Their days off don't always coincide). I decided to take Teagan, Annie, Taryn, and Ruthie out to lunch for a treat since it was just us "girls." We rarely...

God desires to have an intimate relationship with His children, and ashamedly I found myself too busy and distracted to take time for Him.   As a mom of young children, including an infant, sleepless nights are par for the course. In the past, I didn't have any trouble waking early to spend time alone with the Lord, reading my bible and praying. However, the past 18 months or so, I find myself tired all.the.time. I go to bed with good intentions, setting my alarm to ring well before the children wake. But, after waking 2, 3, or even 4 times each night, morning comes too quickly. I sleep until the last possible moment before having to wake up to get the kids ready for the day. Alone time with God will have to wait until later.... When I participated in my church's Ladies' Bible Study, I would find time to complete the weekly assignments, albeit most were rushed and more to "get them done" than to learn and grow as a Christian. This (school) year, I decided not...

If you are like me, you eat the same meals for supper on a regular basis. I call this a "dinner rut." I have been in a dinner rut for a while, and I posted on Facebook that I was looking for new recipes to try. In response to my plea, my amazing sister shared that she was preparing to do a major cooking spree. She shared her plan and gave me some tips, and I decided to research the idea to see if it was something I could do, too. I began by checking out the book Once-A-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg from my local library. I read the first chapter to understand the premise behind the book, and I was hooked! The book was a huge help because it provided two 1-month meal plans, two 2-week meal plans, shopping lists, recipes, and cooking day assembly instructions. I originally planned to start with a 2-week cooking cycle to get a feel for doing so much cooking at one time, but decided to go ahead and extend it to a 1-month plan. As suggested in the b...